This is the suspicious bag found in Kittery Friday afternoon. An expert in explosives has been called to the scene. (Ryan McBride/Staff photographer)

KITTERY, Maine — Police and firefighters have cleared the scene in Kittery after investigating a suspicious blue duffel bag that was left on a street corner for several hours.

Police blocked off multiple streets near John Paul Jones Park as they awaited a representative from the state police bomb squad to arrive on scene. The bag was left beside a signpost outside of Warren's Lobster House.

Police were notified about the bag around noon. It was found near a boarding location for the shuttle service that carries passengers between Kittery and Portsmouth, N.H.

Kittery police and firefighters established a perimeter around the bag and evacuated some residents in the vicinity. Newmarch Street and Hunter Avenue were blocked at Government Street, extending south toward the location where the bag was found.

A Maine State Police explosives specialist from Augusta arrived to inspect the bag shortly before 4 p.m. At around the same time, the owner of the bag, a homeless woman from Portland, Maine, arrived to claim it.